Improving our aim

Bioethicists appearing in the media have been accused of "shooting from the hip" (Rachels, 1991). The criticism is sometimes justified; We identify so me reasons our interactions with the press can have bad results and suggest remedies. In particular we describe a target (fostering better public dial ogue), obstacles to hitting the target (such as intrinsic and accidental de fects in our knowledge) and suggest some practical ways to surmont those ob stacles (including seeking but ways to write or speak at length, rather tha n in sound bites). We make use of our own research into the way journalists quota bioethicists. We end by suggesting that the profession as a whole lo ok into this question more fully.